Key facts
- China's embassy in Santo Domingo accused the US of "sinister intentions" and mocked Washington's "congratulations" to the Dominican Republic.
- The embassy called the factory closure "an isolated case of Dominican law enforcement" and said it was an internal matter.
- US State Department official Juan Pablo Segura praised Dominican authorities for shutting down the factory, citing missing permits and labor violations.
- The embassy urged US officials to "do more practical things for regional progress" and avoid "verbal political manipulations".
China's embassy in Santo Domingo accused the United States on November 9, 2026 of "sinister intentions" and mocked Washington for "congratulating" the Dominican Republic on closing a Chinese-run cardboard factory. The rebuke came hours after Juan Pablo Segura, who leads the US State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, praised Dominican authorities on social media for "taking decisive action to shut down a massive, illegal, Chinese-operated cardboard factory."
The embassy said in a statement that the closure was "an isolated case of Dominican law enforcement" and that the situation was used by the United States to "sow discord" in Dominican-Chinese relations. It called the factory closure an internal matter that did not warrant "congratulations" from an "external force," stressing that the Dominican Republic is a sovereign and independent state. The embassy also urged US officials to "do more practical things for the progress of the region and refrain from resorting to verbal political manipulations."
Segura wrote on X that the factory operated without permits, ran an illicit fuel depot and circumvented labor laws by illegally hiring foreign workers. The embassy said the Chinese government has always required its citizens and companies abroad to strictly comply with local laws and regulations, and that the "vast majority" of Chinese-capital community and companies in the Dominican Republic operate lawfully and generate jobs.